RM-19Distribution
of near-surface coal deposits in the San Juan Basin, New Mexico

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By
E. C. Beaumont, 1998, 2 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

RM-19 shows the distribution
of seven major regressive and transgressive Cretaceous coal-bearing geologic
units with surface-mining potential: the Dilco and Gibson Coal Members of
the Crevasse Canyon Formation, the undivided Gibson Coal Member and Cleary
Coal Member of the Menefee Formation, the undivided Cleary Coal and lower
coal members of the Menefee Formation, the upper coal member of the Menefee
Formation, the undivided Mesaverde group, and the Fruitland Formation. The
maps show the formational croplines and the approximate position of the
200-ft cover line. The writer began geologic mapping of the Upper Cretaceous
rocks in northwestern New Mexico in 1948 as an employee of the U. S. Geological
Survey. In text on the back of sheet 1 he recounts early USGS investigations
into the area, describes depositional sequences, evaluates the potential
of individual coal-bearing units, reviews the history of coal mining in
the San Juan Basin, and closes with a candid discussion of the factors influencing
the future of San Juan Basin's coal-mining industry. Supplementing the geologic
map and text are a diagrammatic cross section, 36 years of coal prices,
extensive references and tables summarizing coal production (1961-1996)
and individual mine statistics. RM-19 is an important addition to the library
of anyone involved in the coal industry, power generation, energy resources,
or San Juan Basin Cretaceous geology.